Isaiah 26.8
Dear Prayer Partner

God is at work reaching people all over the world. We are so thankful that we get to partner with incredible teams working to make the Bible known.

Thanks for your prayerful part in this. The image above is from the launch of the Lugandan Braille Bible in Uganda. Pray for this and other Bible Society work below...
Nashat, PBS
Palestinian Bible Day
 
The Palestinian Bible Society work to make the Word of God available to Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They work with all Christian Churches and denominations and see people of all traditions attending their events.

Their fifth Bible Day took place on October 19 2018. Over 1,400 people attended the day with the theme of ‘We will Rise up and Build’ from Nehemiah 2:20. The aim of the day was to encourage local Christians to work together to build up their faith, families, churches and communities.

The programme included a greeting from a government representative, Bible teaching, worship, drama and videos. Perhaps the most important part of the day was the distribution of Scripture. Thousands of Bibles, books, audio players and USB drives were given away to attendees. Amazingly, the event was part broadcast live on Palestinian TV with other parts recorded for screening later.

Pray for the spread of God's Word to Palestinians
  • Praise God that so many people attended this event with a real hunger for God’s Word and a huge desire to spread the Gospel. 
  • Pray for those who will watch the recordings on TV, that God would lead them to Christians who will be able to talk with them and share Jesus.
  • Pray too for the many Scripture resources that were distributed, many to be passed on to those who are in need of God’s Word and presence in their lives. 
  • Pray for the team led by Nashat Filmon (pictured above) and for provision as they seek to cover the costs of this special day and continue this kind of ministry in the future.
Northern Sami Bible 2018
New Bible translation in Northern Sami

A new translation of the Bible in the Northern Sami language will soon be made available. There are tens of thousands of Northern Sami speakers in Finland, Norway and Sweden.

This translation will strengthen the spiritual development of the Sami community and open the message of the Bible for children and young people who struggle to understand the dated language in older versions.

The language of this translation fits naturally into the Sami worldview, which enables the reader to more easily grasp the meaning of the text. The Old Testament is especially important to the community.

Helga West was part of the group giving feedback on the translation. She concentrated on passages from the Old testament focusing particularly on language use and comprehension: “I was not prepared for the emotional reaction that I had, which totally surprised me when I began reading the Creation narratives in my mother tongue,” she notes. “It touched me deeply… Only now does the Bible speak also to me.”

The full launch of the Northern Sami Bible is still some way off but the Finnish Bible Society will launch the digital version on February 6, 2019 which is the Sami National Day. The joint Nordic launch will not take place until August and September 2019.

Pray for the Northern Sami people
  • Pray that God will continue to smooth the way for the new Northern Sami Bible translation.
  • Pray that many more people will soon share Helga’s joy in being deeply impacted by God’s Word in their heart language.
  • Ask the Lord to spread His Word to all Sami people and that they would be hungry to read it so that they might grow closer to God.

Image shows Finnish Bible Society CEO Markku Kotila with Ulla-Maarit Magga, member of the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in national dress.
October 2018
Luganda Braille Bible

It is especially encouraging when one of the projects we have been supporting takes a huge step forward. We have been partnering with other Bible Societies to fund the work in Uganda to people with visual impairments. So we are thrilled that the Luganda Braille Bible was officially launched in October, making this the 45 th language to have a full Bible in Braille!

Uganda has a population of 35 million people, 2.6 million are visually impaired or blind. This is one of the highest rates of visual impairment in the world with measles being a common cause. The Bible Society set up ‘Friends of the Blind’ several years ago and this has developed into an amazing, collaborative ministry with the visually disabled community.

The Braille Bible was launched through the Friends of the Blind Bible Symposium. This attracted well over 500 people, such was the interest in God’s Word. Stacked in a large pile on the stage were the more than 40 large books that make up one complete Braille Bible. The programme was a mix of speakers, Bible readings, devotion, testimonies, dancing and music. One of the highlights of the celebration was a joyful, energetic dance performed by children.

Bishop Henry Katumba-Tamale, who led the devotion, officially launched the Luganda Braille Bible by cutting the cake, accompanied by fireworks and confetti, a moment captured in the opening photo of this Prayer News.
 
Pray for a Uganda
  • Pray for the distribution of these Braille Bibles, that all would be able to access God's Word easily.
  • Ask God to help the Bible Society in Uganda as they raise funds to provide as many Braille Bibles as needed for schools and churches to serve the country’s large blind community. At around £400 a Bible, much help is needed!
  • Please pray for Mr. Geoffry Miller on his appointment to the role of General Secretary Designate for the Bible Society of the South Pacific. The outgoing General Secretary, Mr. Solomone Duru, will work alongside Geoffry until 31 December 2018.
  • Praise God that the Nepal Bible Society has had their registration renewed for another year. This is not something that can be assumed so thank God for smoothing their way!
  • Continue to pray for the National Bible Society in Ireland and they conduct interviews today (Thurs 15 November) and work towards making an appointment of the new role of Development Officer.
  • The Bible Society staff team in Peru are asking for prayer as most of the team have been hit with illness. That is all the information we have but the Lord knows their needs. May the Lord strengthen them and their families. 
Thank you for praying for us as we continue to visit churches, build relationships, communicate the mission in various ways and seek to encourage Bible engagement.

Speaking Engagements
Fri 16 Nov, 8.30pm – Leah is speaking at Legacurry Presbyterian Boys Brigade
Sun 18 Nov, 7pm – Catherine is speaking in Enniskillen Presbyterian Church
Wed 21 Nov, 7.45pm – Leah is speaking at Balteagh Presbyterian Women’s group
Tue 27 Nov, 10.30am - Catherine is speaking at Belmont Presbyterian Seniors
Sun 9 Dec, 11am – Leah is speaking in Donaghadee Methodist Church

Bible Sunday
Sunday 9 December is Bible Sunday in the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches in Ireland. Resources are available on our website by clicking the Bible Sunday image below. Do let us know if your church takes part, we would love to know how you celebrate!
Greatest Gift is our Alternative Christmas Gift Catalogue which has been popular for a number of years now. Pray that people will catch the concept and give the 'Greatest Gift' this year. If you would like to do Christmas presents a little differently, then click the Greatest Gift info box below.

Special Events
Wed 28 Nov - AMS Carol Service (see details below)
Thu 29 Nov-Sun 2 Dec – Mossley Parish Church Christmas Tree Festival. One tree will feature Bibles from here. Pop in if you are in the area and see if you can spot it!
Fri 7-Sun 9 Dec – we’ll be setting up a tree at the Christmas Tree Festival in St Aidan’s Church, Kilmore, Portadown
Fri 14 Dec – Christmas coffee morning in Bible House.

Pray for the next meeting of the Bible Society NI Board on Mon 3 Dec at 6pm.
GG2018
BIBLE SOCIETY NI
www.biblesocietyni.co.uk
Charity Registration Number NIC102557